Here is the eighth chapter of this Moonlight /H50 crossover story, with another one or two to follow (if it's one, it'll be long, so I may break it into two).

As always, I don’t own these characters, but dearly love to play with them, nor do I profit in any way from this story.

In memory of our own dear Librarian 7, aka Lucky

I hope you enjoy!!

Chapter 8Waimanalo – the Miller’s house - night

Samantha Miller paced across the lanai on a moonless night, feeling something wasn’t quite right. Ted had returned from his interview with 5-0 earlier in the day, looking better than when he’d left. He seemed relieved, but relieved about what, Samantha couldn’t tell. All he said was that 5-0 had a few more questions about Ms. Walker’s murder, including whether he’d seen anyone lurking outside her house. Sadly, he had little of value to offer in the way of helpful information, then came home.

If only Ted had died in that limo accident….but he hadn’t and now she had to find away to close the figurative noose around his neck and get what was rightfully hers.

A short time later, Samantha found Ted packing a bag, getting ready to go to the airport, again. Apparently, the LA meeting was back on and because of the earlier cycling, he’d be flown on a private jet to and from the mainland. If all went well, he’d be back in a few days. He’d kissed her as he was leaving, but not the perfunctory kiss she was now used to getting. He’d lingered for a moment, looking into her eyes, then said good-bye.

Samantha poured herself a glass of bourbon, trying to make sense of the mixed signals Ted was sending. If he had suspected and implicated her in any way, 5-0 would have been on her doorstep, hand-cuffs at the ready. But how could he implicate her? He was oblivious to the web she’d been weaving these last few years, wasn’t he?

Of course he was. Ted was no fool, but his focus was either on his work, charity or that God-damned golfing buddy of his. He hadn’t a moment to spare for her, so how could he possibly be suspicious?

When he’d suggested divorce a few years back, Samantha nearly accepted his proposal. Twenty percent of Ted’s assets was a fortune in itself, but if she waited, maybe she could get a larger one instead. That’s when she started plotting, looking for a way to gain the fortune she believed she deserved.

Killing Ted herself was out of the question as the spouse was typically the prime suspect in such a murder. Samantha wasn’t willing to risk being found guilty and ending up with nothing except life in prison. If only her husband could be found guilty of some felonious crime that would land his philanthropic ass in jail, Samantha might gain everything she was looking for – wealth, freedom and the life she so desperately wanted.

That Walker woman provided the perfect way for Samantha to be rid of Ted and get her hands on the jewel purported to be in Walker’s possession. When she caught him coming out of Walker’s house one day, Samantha thought she’d found the perfect trap – infidelity – and promptly hired a PI to gather evidence that Ted was a frequent visitor to Walker’s place.

That little scheme went up in flames when the PI she’d hired suddenly quit, having found no evidence to support Ted’s supposed infidelity or that he’d ever gone into Walker’s house again. When she’d tried to convince him to keep looking, the PI said his cover had been blown and Walker was aware of his surveillance of her home.

So, apparently, was Ted.

They had one hell of an argument that night, with him accusing her of looking for trouble where there wasn’t any. In his mind, they’d be lucky if Walker didn’t sue them, being an attorney and all. Still, Samantha held her ground, saying she was convinced he was having an affair with their neighbor. He’d countered with the threat of divorce again, only this time it wasn’t just a threat. Ted told his wife that he’d have his lawyer start drafting the divorce agreement. Seeing her plans start to unravel, Samantha apologized and begged him to reconsider, which he did. This allowed Samantha time for another opportunity to present itself.

It wasn’t long before one arose.

Samantha had seen Walker come home late one afternoon, later taking the trash out by a side garage door. Before she could return to the house, Walker received a call. Distracted, she re-entered the house without closing the door behind her.

An hour or so later, Samantha spied Walker on her lanai staring off into the evening sky fingering a red scarf. When Walker put the scarf down, she picked up a glass of wine in one hand, while touching a jewel at her throat with the other. From what Samantha could see, the jewel appeared to be large ruby, or so it appeared from a distance.

Samantha came back inside her house, wondering if this was the moment she was waiting for. If the door to Walker’s home was still open, she could slip in unobserved. It was risky, but if she could get the jewel and frame Ted for Walker’s murder, the risk was worth taking.

And so she took it. Creeping into the house and up on Walker was easier than Samantha thought it would be. The woman was clearly lost in thought, unaware that the red scarf had blown back into the house, presenting itself as the perfect murder weapon.

Samantha didn’t even think before she acted. In a flash, the scarf was around Walker’s neck, choking the life out of her. When Walker collapsed, Samantha reached for the jewel, only to find that it wasn’t a ruby at all, just a cheap crystal bauble that had shattered under the scarf.

Samantha fled back to her own house, heart racing, astonished at what she’d done. She’d worn gloves, so there wasn’t any risk of fingerprints exposing her. She’d left the garage door open, giving credence to a fabricated story of home invasion. As far as she was concerned, she’d left nothing to incriminate her in Walker’s murder. If only that idiot PI had found something linking Ted to Walker, Ted would have easily been the cops’ prime suspect. With Samantha planting seeds of doubt around town about Ted’s character and possible infidelity, it wouldn’t be hard to find motive. Maybe Ted had killed Walker in a jealous rage or maybe he’d killed her hearing she wanted to end their affair. Dealer’s choice.

Samantha’s musings were interrupted when the door bell rang.

Detective Danny Williams of 5-0 was at the front door. “Mrs. Miller, I’m sorry to inform you that we’ve arrested your husband for the murder of Simone Walker, aka Laura Winters.”

Samantha couldn’t hide her shock, not at Ted’s arrest, but that her plan might actually be working. This only helped convince the detective of her genuine distress as she babbled. “Ted? Murder? When? How? ”

Danny led the apparently distraught woman back into the house, helping her sit down. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, my partner is a lot better at this, but he’s sick right now….but you don’t need to know that.” Danny sat down across from Samantha. “I hate to have to do this, but I have a few questions for you.”

Danny then asked about possible motives Ted might have had for murdering Simone Walker. He wasn’t at all surprised when Samantha readily offered the possibility that her husband was having an affair with Walker and that she’d even hired a PI to find conclusive proof.

Danny was dutifully taking notes, asking for the name of the PI, which was happily supplied. “Did the PI find proof, of the affair, I mean?”

“No, but after I’d caught Ted coming out of Walker’s house one night, he became more careful, more discreet.”

“Did your husband ever display any violent tendencies?”

“Ted has a temper, but he’s never physically abused me, if that’s what you’re asking. Still….”

“Still what?”

“If Walker wanted to end the affair, Ted might have snapped. He’s something of a control freak, you know.”

“No, I didn’t, but this is very helpful. Why do you think Walker might want to end the affair?”

“She was very angry about having her house under surveillance. Maybe she was afraid that being caught in an extra-marital affair could hurt her reputation. She even threatened to sue us, but Ted talked her out of it.”

“That was big of him.”

“Where did you find Ted?”

“We caught him at the airport boarding a flight to Singapore.”

As hoped, that news rattled Samantha a bit. “Singapore? He told me he was going to LA for some meeting.”

“Not a surprise. Maybe he didn’t want you implicated in any way. Anyway, he’s denying any guilt, but that’s what murderers do, don’t they? They lie to the people who love them and to everyone else, including themselves. In no time, they’re convinced they’ve done nothing wrong, or that anybody will ever find out about it.”

Half-listening, Samantha nodded, her mind racing to understand why Ted would be going to Singapore. Was he on to her little scheme? Worse, had he moved his fortune overseas out of her reach? She barely heard the Detective as he rambled on.

“You know what usually trips murderers up? Their consciences. That little voice in the back of their head telling them that maybe, just maybe, they made a mistake. That someone was on to them. That voice gets louder and eventually, they can’t stand it anymore. Some confess before the guilt drives them crazy. Others take more drastic measures.”

Samantha blinked, returning her focus to the Detective. “I’m sorry, Detective. I thought you said that Ted didn’t confess.”

“No, he didn’t, but even without a confession, we have enough information to arrest him and charge him with murder.” Danny rose. “Again, sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Thanks for your time.”

After the detective left, Samantha poured herself a second, congratulatory bourbon, feeling all her fears melt away. With Ted in jail, freedom and wealth were closer than ever before.

Heading out onto the lanai, Samantha lay down on a chaise lounge, ecstatic that patience and planning were finally paying off. Taking a sip of her drink, Samantha eyes were drawn to the darkened lanai of her not-so-dearly departed neighbor. When the light came on, it momentarily startled her. Realizing that the light was likely on a timer, Samantha relaxed and took another drink.

When Simone Walker came out of the house and stood on her lanai, Samantha Miller nearly fainted.

At once, Simone disappeared into thin air.

Samantha scrambled from the chaise, scared to death, her heart pounding. Looking at the half-empty glass in her hand, Samantha tossed its contents, thinking she’d had too much to drink and that her mind was playing tricks on her.

She left the lanai, closed its door, making sure that it was locked. With Ted out of the house, Samantha wasn’t taking any chances and double-checked that every door and window in the house was locked. A few hours later, she’d regained her sense of calm and went to bed.

Sleep was elusive, so she rose and went into the bathroom, looking for something to help her relax. Returning to the bedroom, she found Simone lying on the bed, dressed as she’d been the night she was murdered, complete with the red scarf wrapped around her neck, her eyes wide open in shock.

Samantha stood, frozen in fear, terrified at the sight before her. The glass of water she’d been holding dropped from her hand, causing her to look down. When she looked up again, Simone was gone.

Samantha was trembling from head to foot, her mind racing, trying to process what she’d seen or what she thought she’d seen.

Had Simone’s ghost come back to haunt her?

Before tonight, Samantha would have laughed at such a notion. She wasn’t laughing now.

Throwing on some clothes, Samantha decided to go to a hotel in Honolulu. There would be plenty of people there, people who would surround her and keep that… thing… away from her.

A few minutes later, Samantha got in her car and started driving toward Honolulu where there were plenty of hotels to choose from. As she drove down darkened stretch of road just north of Kaupo Beach, it started to rain. Still, she didn’t slow down. She had to get where there were people, people who would protect her from whatever it was she was seeing.

As Samantha rounded a curve in the road, the figure of Simone Walker appeared out of thin air. Unable to stop, Samantha drove right over her. Looking in the rear view mirror where the body of Simone Walker should be, there was nothing.

Samantha shrieked, then sped up.

By the time she got to Honolulu, Samantha was totally panic-stricken. Before she got out of the car, she took a few minutes to compose herself; walking into one of the larger downtown hotels acting crazy wasn’t likely to get her a room.

A short while later, ensconced in the relative safety of the hotel room, Samantha decided against any more alcohol, opting for a hot shower instead. She stood under the shower head for quite some time, feeling the warm water gradually ease the tension in her muscles.

Afterward, Samantha ordered something from room service, hoping that between the shower and a light meal, she’d be able to get the rest she so obviously needed. Still, her mind demanded an explanation for something that clearly couldn’t be real.Ghost? Not likely. My mind must have been playing tricks on me. Yes, that has to be it. What did that Detective say about guilt making people crazy? If I felt guilty, which I don’t, that might be a possible explanation. Walker was a means to an end. Ted? Without any other suspects, they’ll convict him. They need someone to pin the murder on. When that happens, I’ll finally be free.

After she ate, Samantha began to feel more relaxed, so she locked the door to her room as well as the one leading to the room’s lanai, then closed the drapes. Within minutes, she was curled up in a ball, waiting for sleep to take her.

She drifted off eventually, but slept lightly. Fear, confusion, and possibly a kernel of guilt kept her from a deeper sleep. When she turned over, trying to get more comfortable, she heard a voice.

“Why did I have to die, Samantha?”

Samantha’s eyes flew open. Seeing nothing in the darkened room, she fumbled for the light.

There was no one in the room with her.

Shaking all over, Samantha tried to calm herself, convinced that she must have heard the voice in a dream. Once her heart stopped hammering, she took a deep breath and decided to try and sleep sitting up with the light on.

It took a while, but eventually, Samantha’s eyes began to drift shut. Once again, a voice called out to her.

“Why couldn’t you be happy with what you had? Why did you have to take my life?”

Samantha sat bolt upright, clutching the bedclothes. While she still saw no one, she knew she hadn’t dreamt the voice. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

“You know who I am. I’m the woman you strangled, the woman who’d never done you any harm.”

Samantha grew frantic. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“All well and good, but don’t you think you should apologize to my face?”

“Wha…what? Where are you? I don’t see you.”

“I’m on the lanai. Open the door and come out.”

Samantha’s teeth were chattering in fear. Rationally, she knew that there was no way anyone could be on the balcony a dozen stories up, and she was sure as hell it couldn’t be Simone Walker’s ghost. If she was ever to get any sleep, she had to show herself that there was no one on the balcony and that everything she was seeing and hearing was all in her head.

Getting out of bed, Samantha opened the drapes, then turned on the light to the lanai. No one was there. Opening the door, she slowly emerged from her room onto the lanai, seeing nothing, feeling only a cool night breeze.

“The night sky is lovely, don’t you think?”

Samantha nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned around. Simone Walker stood in the doorway, blocking the path to her room.

“I killed you!! I strangled you with that scarf!!” Samantha began to shriek. “Go away! Leave me alone!!”

“O, I don’t think I’m going away any time soon, dear neighbor. You have a choice to make; either confess your guilt or I’ll haunt you day and night. You’ll never know when I’ll show up. You’ll never have any peace, ever again. Which will it be, Samantha?”

Samantha stood staring at the woman in front of her. Simone couldn’t possibly be real. She couldn’t be a ghost, either. The only rational explanation was that it was all in Samantha’s head, just like the detective said.

‘That voice gets louder and eventually, they can’t stand it anymore. Some confess before guilt drives them crazy. Others take more drastic measures.’

There was only one way to find out. Ever so slowly, Samantha reached out to touch the woman in front of her, expecting to feel nothing. Simone didn’t move, a slight smile emerging as Samantha reached for her.

When Samantha’s hand grew close enough, Simone grabbed both her arms. “Feel the icy grip of death, Samantha. My blood is on your hands. Confess your guilt or join me in the grave!”

Steve McGarrett looked out over the ocean, admiring yet another beautiful Hawaiian sunset. Nahele had brought him home a few hours ago and Steve wanted to enjoy a few moments peace before his partner showed up. There was a price to be paid for his miraculous recovery, but it was worth it.

Nahele was in the kitchen cooking a dinner that was sure to satisfy Steve after days of not being able to keep anything down. Steak was on the menu, but so were some other more healthy items as well.

Danny showed up a little early, but that wasn’t surprising. Steve knew his partner had a bug up his ass about his recovery, but how Danny was going to express that irritation was going to be difficult with others around, which is why Nahele was staying for dinner.

Finally, Danny couldn’t take it any longer. “You wave that steak over the fire, for what, 5 seconds?”

Steve swallowed before answering. “Nah, I think Nahele gave it, what, a minute each side?”

Nahele nodded. “Yeah, Steve asked me to keep it a little rarer than normal. Usually, it’s three minutes a side.”

“You know, I could get used to this? Better for my blood as well.”

Danny choked. “Blood? Did you say blood?”

“Yeah, I need to boost the iron content in my blood. Doc says that’s good for me.”

“Doc? Which one? Yours or the ones in the hospital?”

“Dr. Sato. Nice guy. They all were, really, but Sato seemed to give a little more of himself than the others.”

Nahele had been watching the exchange between the two men, certain he was missing something. When he saw Danny’s face start to go scarlet, Nahele headed for the relative safety of the kitchen before the explosion.

To his credit, Danny counted to ten before he responded. “You want to elaborate on that?”

“On what?”

“You said Sato gave more of himself…”

“Well, yeah, he did. After you told me I had to stay an extra day, Dr. Sato spent a lot of time with me, showing me the test results, explaining them….”

Danny finally erupted. “God damn it, Steve! You know what I mean!”

Steve gave his partner an innocent look. “I do?”

“Yes, you damn well know you do.” Danny lowered his voice. “Did you take Sato’s blood?”

Steve leaned closer to his partner before he answered. “Yes.”

Danny’s eyes bulged, then he slapped his hand on the table. “Are you insane?! Do you know what could have happened? Did you think about that at all?”

Steve sat back, then shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, Danny. Ever since I got exposed to radiation, it was almost all I could think about. At first, I was pretty sure I’d be OK…”

“Of course you were.”

“But as time went on, and I kept feeling worse and worse. I got worried I couldn’t beat this thing. When Beth told me I wasn’t going to get better, I knew I had to do something.” Steve ticked off the options. “One, I could just let nature take its course and die, not high on my list. Two, I could take my chances that some medication would eventually help me, which I did try. Nothing worked, and based on a story Beth shared with me, I’d likely be back to option one. Three, I could take a chance that vamp blood might help me, which it did.”

Danny was only slightly mollified. “Did you think about the risk you were taking, huh?”

“Yeah, I did. I called Dr. Sato and asked him to see me. He came to the house and found out from one of the neighbors that I’d been taken away in an ambulance. Once he found me, I asked him if there was anything he could do. He said he wouldn’t turn me, but since I wasn’t close enough to death, he’d give me his blood. The rest is history.”

“Why this guy Sato? Why not Mick or Beth?”

“I knew Mick wouldn’t do it. I didn’t want to put Beth in an awkward position with her husband by asking her to do it. Besides, Sato owed me a favor.”

“Favor? How do you know this guy, anyway?”

“Does the name Kioshi mean anything to you?”

Danny thought for a moment. “Vaguely. Refresh my memory.”

“Remember the video showing the burned bodies of the faceless ones being loaded into that cargo container? Kioshi was the vamp who shot it.”

“OK, yeah. Now I remember. You promised to keep him out of the investigation.”

“I did, to keep his community safe. Kioshi is also known as Dr. Hideki Sato.”

“Great. So now the two of you are even. What if he was wrong and you died and became one of them, huh?”

“Sato has been a healer longer than he’s been a vampire, which is about 200 years. I trusted his judgment, knowing he swore he’d never kill anyone, let alone turn them.” Steve smiled, trying to calm his partner. “Still, if I had been turned, I’d have had the option of staying that way or not. Without Sato’s help, there weren’t any options beyond dying and I wasn’t ready to accept that. Like I told Beth, I want to live.”

Danny remained silent for a few minutes torn between the desire to punch his partner or hug him. In the end, he did both. “That’s for all the hell you’ve put me through over the years, pulling stupid stunts being the hero.” Then, under Nahele’s astonished gaze, he pulled his partner up off the floor then hugged him. “And yeah, I want you to live, too.”

Jerry was heading downstairs after finding the offices of 5-0 deserted. He’d caught Grover on the way out, who said that Chin had already left and Danny was having dinner with McGarrett. Was there something that he could do for him?

Jerry paused for a moment, then thought the better of it. If all members of 5-0 were present when he told them Noelani noticed the fading scratches on Simone Walker’s dead body, maybe they’d tell him what he wanted to know. If Kostan and St. John were vampires, they’d want to do something about Noelani’s concerns before she started asking questions they couldn’t, or rather, didn’t want to answer.

Jerry was checking something on his laptop, when he became aware that a man was standing across the desk in front of him. A man he hadn’t heard enter and who looked eerily like Commander McGarrett.

The man smiled, then sat down across from Jerry. “My name is Mick St. John. I hear you’ve been looking into me. Wanna tell me why?”

Jerry swallowed hard; the man’s smile wasn’t exactly what he’d call friendly. Feral was more like it and if Mick was what Jerry thought he was, this conversation could end badly. “Just curious. When I saw that you looked like Commander McGarrett, I wanted to know why, like are you related or not.”

“We’re not, but that’s not all, is it Jerry? I can call you Jerry, right?”

You can call me anything you want…just don’t hurt me…

“Sure, fine.” Jerry took a deep breath and decided that in this case, honesty was probably the best policy and told Mick everything he knew. “McGarrett warned me to stay out of this for my own good, and so did everyone else in 5-0. But if I had stayed out of it, I wouldn’t have found out who Laura Winters really was and everything else, and maybe her killer might have gotten away with murder. When someone started messing with my computer, blocking my searches, I got scared.”

“Scared? Why?”

“If, and this is a big if, you and Kostan are vampires and Kostan is the scary dude Detective Williams says he is, maybe there’s an equally scary dude messing with my computer. First my computer, then me.”

Mick wanted to laugh, but the man sitting across the desk from him was genuinely frightened. Furthermore, he was right; without his help, Samantha Miller might have gotten away with murder and an innocent one wrongly blamed. “Listen, Jerry. Josef is a scary guy. You don’t ever want to get on his bad side. But I promise, no one is going to come after you. Just do yourself a favor. Next time McGarrett tells you to do something, listen.”

Mick rose to leave, but Jerry stopped him. “I gotta ask and not out of curiosity, although there is some of that. Are you a vampire?”

“You wanna explain why you want to know, other than curiosity, that is?”

“Noelani, our ME…”

“Yeah, I met her.”

“She noticed something, something you should know about.”

Mick sat down again. “I’m listening.”

“She came to me the other day with pictures of Ms. Walker’s neck, one taken at the crime scene, the other the next day in the morgue. She noticed that the scratches on Ms. Walker’s neck seemed deeper in the crime scene image than in the later one. She asked me to do an analysis to see if they really had faded, but I told her I couldn’t do it right away. She was going to ask McGarrett about it, but I can play with the images and make the scratches seem similar enough, if you want me to, that is.”

“For a price, I take it.”

“For an answer, that’s all.”

Mick leaned across the desk, his eyes glittering. “Are you trying to blackmail me, Jerry?”

“If you break that promise, it’ll be an early grave.” Mick grew deadly serious. “You should know that the guy messing with your computer is really good at what he does. Trust me, he’ll know if you betray us.”

Jerry started to sweat; maybe his curiosity was going to be the end of him. “I swear on my life, I won’t tell anybody.”

Yay! I'm glad Mick was the one who told Jerry. And he did it just right--he understands the kind of guy Jerry is, and he fed him exactly the right information to satisfy his curiosity AND make him realize the seriousness of the issue.

Simone was so clever in the way she "haunted" Samantha. I love the way you described the sequence of scenes... I could picture them, and Samantha's increasing fright. I like your Danny way better than the one onscreen; so I am happy he was able to help with the con on Samantha. She deserved all she felt... and more. I hope she has to go to prison instead of a mental hospital.

allegrita wrote:Yay! I'm glad Mick was the one who told Jerry. And he did it just right--he understands the kind of guy Jerry is, and he fed him exactly the right information to satisfy his curiosity AND make him realize the seriousness of the issue.

Simone was so clever in the way she "haunted" Samantha. I love the way you described the sequence of scenes... I could picture them, and Samantha's increasing fright. I like your Danny way better than the one onscreen; so I am happy he was able to help with the con on Samantha. She deserved all she felt... and more. I hope she has to go to prison instead of a mental hospital.

So is Steve really healed? For good?

Thanks, alle Jerry's not quite a member of the inner circle of 5-0 who know about vamps. He thinks he knows, he thinks Mick told him what he wanted to hear, but he really still doesn't have any proof.

I toyed with how to punish Samantha. Initially, I was going to have her fall from the hotel lanai when Simone confronted her, but that was too easy. The woman needed to suffer a little more than that.

As for Danny, I've tried to keep the positives of the show's character while losing the whining. Danny is very opinionated, but over time, I've tried to make him more understanding, especially of things he's afraid of (vamps, in particular). As for Steve, all will be answered in the final chapter.

Lucy wrote:I have a feeling Mick will be on Jerry's speed dial as they talk in code... (LOVE THIS...LOVE every word)

Thanks, Lucy Yeah, and Mick will have to change his number Jerry doesn't know, though, that soon Mick and the other LA vamps will turn into other people. I'm happy that you're loving this story so much!!

I am loving this story too and all I can think of to say right now is "what Alle and Lucy said." Feeling a little under the weather today, but want to thank you again for keeping the Moonlight magic alive.

Moonlightsonata wrote:I am loving this story too and all I can think of to say right now is "what Alle and Lucy said." Feeling a little under the weather today, but want to thank you again for keeping the Moonlight magic alive.